FITD: Prelude

I love the Befores.

The anticipation.


The hope of something wonderful to follow.

The possibilities.

Possibilities are what I like best. Who knows what could happen?

In signing up for this painting course, I feel like I am creating a Possible--even if it's just for me.

After scurrying around today for paint supplies, I rushed home to try them out:

• Brushes
• Tiny canvas
• Paints

Initially, I joked about this piece being called "Practice" (which is really no joke) or "The Plight of the Peep." (Okay, that still really cracks me up. A lot. As in: I love Peeps so much that I will hoard them until S'more Season starts again.)

But as I am looking at what I did: I made this. And that's pretty cool.

And...so my new name is "Prelude."

A hope to many beginnings.

(images courtesy of Framed In The Doorway)

Light and Shadow

Hello my lovelies!

I hope this post finds everyone well and thriving. I still have more Key West updates, but I thought I would share something with y'all that I'm super excited about. I signed up to take a painting class! ME!!

It starts Monday, and I cannot wait. It deals with acrylics, and I had an amazing conversation on the phone today with the artist who teaches the class. I've been gathering ideas for inspiration and thought I would share some photos here.

The sun was casting shadows on the wall from one of our plants while it was setting, and I couldn't resist capturing some images.
Although I think of myself as creative, I don't necessarily think of myself as artistic. I love doing crafty stuff. I love colors. I love fashion and pulling things together, but I couldn't draw my way out of a paper bag.

I love being able to reach out of my comfort zone and try something new.

My pics for what they are!

And who knows? I may get some fairy garden inspiration!

(images courtesy of Framed In The Doorway)

Can't wait to share more!!

FITD love,

B

FITD Key West: One Human Family, Part One

Well, my Beloved and I returned from Key West this evening, commemorating his 50th birthday. How lucky I am to celebrate such a milestone with him, and I look forward to many more milestones together.

I am still a little wired from our trip, so I thought I'd take a little time and share a few thoughts. When we booked this trip, both of us had very few expectations--we were going in with an open mind.

An Open Mind: One Human Family

What I love most about Key West is that for the most part, everyone treats everyone else with respect--and that everyone has a story. It's something akin to a-stranger-on-an-airplane mentality. You end up spilling your guts to a stranger--knowing full well you will never see them again--and yet feel that your life has been touched and changed for the better in some small way.

And it spite of the beer/wine/rum/margaritas flowing, Key West has to be one of the safest, laid-back places I've been. I can picture a few guys sitting around in a Lebowski-esque fashion:

Dude 1: Look man! That chick dropped her purse!

Dude 2: Oh hey! It's a Coach. My sister has one just like it.

Dude 3: (hollering) Hey Girl, you dropped your purse!

Dude 4: Cool, man. Y'all wanna go for tacos?

(I can attest to the niceness of humans when I misplaced my Kindle by the pool, and some kind soul returned it. And the nice guy in that shop on Duval, who when I approached him with him clutching a sundress after wearing too-warm clothing, stating, "I am MISERABLE!" I need to try on this dress now, PLEASE! You must have a place!"

To which he replied without mising a beat: "I understand--I have four sisters. There's a room in the back." )

One Human Family

One Human Family

 

Hemingway: the Cat Factor

I feel like it's a sin against my former life of scholarship, but is it wrong that my favorite parts of the Hemingway House are the kitties and the fact that Hemingway was so pissed that his wife put in a pool without his consent that he commandeered the urinal out of the original Sloppy Joe's location (during the move) and installed it as a cat drinking fountain in his backyard?

Vive le choice, Ernest! Vive le choice.

And the kitties: they DO have six toes. :)

The Hemingway Pool

Polydactyl Kitty

Ernest Slept Here: I took his spot.

The Bookstore: Cat on a Shelf

 

The Keeper of the Light

One of my favorite places and stories on Key West. One of the original keepers, Barbara Mabrity, climbed the 87 stairs to the top of the lighthouse--as many as five times a night well into her 80s. Not only did she suffer the loss of her husband to illness but she tragically lost her six children as well.

I could barely make one flight work!

The view (bravely) from the top

And some of the magical artwork outside of the museum (more to follow). Reminds me of my Beloved.

Dancing Couple

The Beauty of Butterflies

Possibly my favorite place on the island. Look at this little guy.

Too cute: No idea what he is

One of my faves...

It's a bird, it's a...

flower :)

Sunset On My Mind

Over Mallory Square...

Dipping below

More to come.

FITD love!

xo,

B

Springtime: Bath Salts

Since Christmas, I have not done much in the way of crafting.

I thought about doing some special crafty gifts for Valentine's Day, but sometimes life gets in the way, and I simply did not have the energy for it.

Recently, I had a friend ask me for some additional bath salts, so I thought it would be fun to make spring-themed ones for both her and her mom.

I used charms and ribbon puirchased at Michael's as well as a leftover mini-mason jar.

I thought it would be fun to layer the salts in pastel green and white with a hint of pink at the top.

Enjoy! :)

Oh--and in honor of my upcoming fairy garden, a friend at work bought be my first fairy figurine! People are just so thoughtful.

Happy Friday!!!

FITD love!

xo,

B

Instagram = Insta-goodness

So, I'm behind the curve on the whole Instagram thing--although I have an account, I rarely use it--focusing my picture-taking time either onto Facebook or this blog. And I just don't feel that my phone has the best camera feature.

Just recently, however, I have discovered the joy in being able to create some really neat images of some of the memories that mean a lot to me.

I'm not a talented picture-take (like so many of my friends are), but I thought it would be fun to share some images. 

My Beloved sent me these roses on Valentine's Day last year: lush and vivid.

Valentine's Day 2012

We have lilies that surround a big rock in our front yard. This blossom is a reminder that spring is around the corner!

Hurry!

I posted this pic in another blog entry, but I love it so much I thought I would share it again. The green reflected in the glass is just breathtaking--a lovely trip with my Beloved. AND I'm getting all kinds of happy looking at those almonds and olives! :)

Sonoma

Like the previous image, I have already posted these images, but had such fun combining then in a tool called Diptic. (It is available via the Apple Store and Google Play.) The image of the leaf is my favorite because when I saw it, the contrast of the color against the ground was so great that I had to get a picture. I love fall colors.

Fall 2012

NOLA: Girls weekend! I am lucky enough to have an amazing group of girlfriends! Although we are far away from each other, we manage to hit New Orleans for a long weekend (about) every year. I snapped this pic at the Gazebo Cafe before we headed off to do some damage at French Market.

NOLA!

I took this two weeks ago--my Beloved and I went to Floyd's for lunch, a local watering-hole, where they serve a Bloody Mary called the Happy Meal: celery, shrimp, cheese, olives, beef jerky, and a banana pepper.

Happy Meal

And...finally, winter: A season that I am happy to say farewell to! I do love this pic, however. :) Taken from our 2012 adventure to the Christmas tree farm.

Christmas 2012

Just a few good memories. :) Hope you are making plenty of your own.

FITD love!

xo,

B

Fairy Garden: FITD Inspiration!

Hello, hello my lovelies!!

I am so, so excited.

So, yesterday after our successful clothing venture, my friend Dee and I decided to head over to a place called Little Enchantments, a store dealing in miniatures and dollhouses. Unfortunately, they were closed, but that didn't stop us from pressing our noses against the glass (sorry, Little Enchantments) and saying things like, "OMG, look at the toilet!! Isn't that the cutest thing ever?"

I love miniatures. And I love dollhouses. And for whatever reason, a toilet becomes more than just a toilet when ensconced in a dollhouse bathroom.

I have always wanted a dollhouse of my very own: one that you put together yourself and decorate yourself. Where you get to pick out tiny china for a tiny china cabinet. And buy wee bed linens.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, for time, space, and budget), that dream was not meant to be.

And that's okay because I learned something. They make dollhouses for adults! The fairy garden. :) I can indulge my sense of whimsy and imagination and still have something practical yet beautiful (also good for acrafty kid idea :) )

So this is my new plan for spring. I'm in full-on research mode and am thinking a large-ish potted fairy garden might make a lovely centerpiece for our deck table.

So, now I'm scouring Pinterest for ideas/inspiration. And what I love is that I can go anywhere with this! And since we still have snow on  the ground here in Minnesota, it'll give me time to think about what I want and how to plan. A definite pick-me-up in looking forward to spring weather. :)

Am. loving. this. :)

Some of my Pinterest thoughts so far:

via

via

via

And although I took this picture last year, it reminds of warmer times to come and a lovely spot to house the garden.

(image courtesy of Framed In The Doorway)

I welcome your thoughts and comments. Has anyone else done a little miniature fairy garden? I will keep you updated on my progress. :)

FITD love!

xo,

B

Consignment Shop Sunday: Friendship, a Memory, and a Tutu Skirt

Oh, finally, finally, finally!!!

I have looked and looked and looked. I have looked high. I have looked low. I have perused Pinterest. I have scoured Etsy with some Regretsy, and I have not been able to find exactly what I am looking for: a tutu skirt much like the pink that Carrie Bradshaw wears in the intro of Sex and the City.

A girlfriend of mine kidnapped me today for lunch and a much-needed (ahem...okay wanted) shopping trip.

We hit a consignment shop close to home to ferret out some good deals. Now, I'll be honest and say that I have a love/hate relationship with consignment shops. Clothing in consignment shops is like eating a bag of Lays potato chips: you can't just buy one thing.

So, it's easy (at least for me) to say, "Well, this shirt is $20, and it's designer, and it was originally $70!" And I'll buy the shirt even though I may like it only a little.

As I have mentioned before, one of my resolutions is to only wear what I love and love what I wear.

Today, I managed to hit the sweet spot: some really great deals with some pieces I love that will integrate nicely with what I already own.

What did I snag?

Well...

• A lovely pink, tweed Anny Taylor jacket
• A coral fluffy sweater...perfect for my pearls
• A dusty rose Banana Republic dress
• And...the beloved tutu skirt

Now, before I share pics (YAY!!) of the tutu skirt, I'd like to share a little something about myself. As much as I love fashion and styling myself, embarrassingly, it's not uncommon for me to end up wearing a shirt backwards or inside out. It's a joke among my family and friends that sometimes I need a little help with my clothing.

Which leads me to the telling of the Great San Juan incident of 2000: Or the Straitjacket Cometh.

My Mom and I took a cruise that left from San Juan. We spent a a day there sightseeing and exploring the local shops. My mom, noticing the provocatively-dressed women, suggested that I try on a similar-looking ensemble.

This is how the convo went:

Mom: (handing me a couple of LBDs) Here, try these on.

Me: I CAN'T!!!

Mom: Why not?

Me: Because! These dresses are SMALL and FORM-FITTING! I'll look like a baby hippo.

Mom: Oh, God, here we go again! You are not fat! And, besides (with irrefutable Mom logic), the Puertican women wear them! Are they fat?

Me: (mumble) No.

Which is how I ended up in a dressing room trying on an LBD with too much L and not enough D. Because the D was made up of multiple straps. And suddenly, I found myself trapped like a sausage in a casing.

What to do?

Me: Mom! MOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

Mom: What's wrong?

Me: I need you! I'm stuck! I'm stuck in the dress! I can't move my arms. I can't get it on or off!

Mom: Don't move. I'm coming in!

And there I was: my arms pinned inside the dress.

Mom: and I started to giggle. And the harder we laughed, the funnier the situation became. She carefully extricated me from my cloth prison and proceeded to set things to rights.

She turned me in front of the mirror.

Mom: Wow.

Me: WOW!

We bought the dress. Wow indeed.

****************************************************

Back to present day. I do most of my shopping online. For the sales and for the Internet Fairy! :) It's pretty rare that I shop with anyone. But, when you shop with a friend who used to be a personal shopper/fashion merchandising person, you get to shop with your own Rachel Zoe.

After finding the tutu skirt et al., I was trying on clothing in the dressing room, when I encountered a similar San Juan problem:

Me: (expletive (s)). Stupid dress. I can't believe it doesn't fit.

Me: I'll just sit down and look at the dress and think about why it doesn't fit. It's just like stupid San Juan all over again.

Me: Crap. Stuck in the dress.

Me: DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE 

Dee: Everything okay?

Me: I can't figure out the dress!

Dee: Okay, don't move. I'm coming in.

Me: Maybe it just doesn't fit.

Dee: Maybe. But hold on.

A few minutes later, Dee had figured out the problem.

Dee: Hang tight. It's the belt. Cut it off and we can restyle it (pulling options).

Me: I like it.

Dee: Me too.

Indeed. :)

It's good to have friends.

So, pics of my beloved tutu skirt (Forever 21):

FITD love!!

xo,

B